5 Tips for Cleaning After Holiday Guests Leave

Part of what makes the festivities fun in Malaysia are the open houses. From small gatherings of friends, raucous family reunions, to large kenduris, sharing is caring and the reason for the season when it comes to merriment.

But the part that no one likes is the cleaning up! With many guests coming in and out of your home, fiddly and crumbly foodstuffs that get everywhere, and maybe even little kids whose mischief make a mess, restoring order and cleanliness post-feast can become a dreadful, overwhelming chore!

These 5 tips (+ 2 cheats!) will get you through the post-holiday cleaning quickly, easily, and properly!

1. Clean As You Go

You don’t need to wait until after the part to clean up; the best way to tackle messes is to get them early. Spills, stains, and breakages should be dealt with immediately to prevent the mess from getting worse, reduce the risk of injuries, and avoid long-term damage. Pick up food scraps and sweep up crumbs, and throw away trash as they build up. Keep paper towels and cleaning cloths handy.

And don’t worry about looking like a worrywart. Your guests will understand!

2. Strategise Your Cleaning

Cleaning up your whole house after a day of partying can be overwhelming. Everything is in disarray, so where do you even start? Festivities can also take a whole day and run late into the night, so you’ll be exhausted and tired by the time you’re supposed to clean up.

Tackle the cleaning one area at a time by breaking the chores into smaller, more manageable tasks. Some things need to be cleaned immediately, while others can wait until you feel more energetic and focused. You can do so by prioritising certain cleaning and areas, according to the messiness, nature of the dirtiness, and even by how often you’ll use a certain room in your home.

3. Deal With Food Waste

Among the most important things you need to deal with right away is trash, food waste, and leftovers. Often, guests are only too happy to tapau any leftover food, especially the tasty, festive ones. If you’re still left with some, make sure to pack them and keep them properly before they go bad or attract pests.

4. Throw Away The Trash

From food waste to wrappers and general trash, rubbish tends to build up the more people there are and the more festive things become. Round them up quickly and bag them securely, and be particularly careful of food scraps that could spill and attract pests. Separate the recyclables as you go.

Preferably, throw out your garbage into the receptacle outside your house as soon as you can to reduce the clutter and trash in your home.

5. Tackle Guest Areas

The messiest parts of your house will of course be the areas your guests used. That may include the kitchen, dining hall, living room, and front porch. Give these areas a thorough sweeping, and wipe down areas where food was served to get rid of crumbs and scraps. You could also lightly clean the bathrooms, and do a more thorough one later just to ensure it stays clean.

6. Tidy Up Your Rooms

If you cannot handle a deep clean, tidy up your room with a brisk sweep, vacuum, and wipe. Shake out the bedding, sofas, and linen before vacuuming to eliminate crumbs and scraps, and wipe surfaces to remove stains and greasy fingerprints. Rearrange and replace furniture and stow away party decorations, extra chairs, and festive setups to return your space to its normal homeliness.

6.1. (Bonus!) Be Prepared

The key to success is proper preparation, and that includes when setting up (and cleaning after) your festive event. Freshen up your house before setting up for your festivities so you start with a clean slate and do not need to do more intensive cleaning after. Plan to allow guests access to only certain areas in your house, to keep it tidy and avoid messes in harder-to-clean places. If washing a chore, you could consider using disposable tablecloths, plates, and cutlery. Take stock of the kind of activities and food you’ll be having, the number of guests, and the schedule of events for the party to plan your clean up strategy.